At thirty, after sweeping up every major award the entertainment industry had to offer, Liang Jiaqing announced that she was transitioning behind the scenes.
She made the switch from actress to director and producer—and succeeded spectacularly, because she had the talent to back it up.
The day of her thirtieth birthday was also the day she and Shen Lin officially confirmed their relationship.
It was her first time falling into a sweet romance, and Ms. Liang had to admit that it was dangerously addictive.
“Ms. Liang, have you been possessed?”
Liang Zhou had been staring at his aunt’s silly grin for quite some time. Frowning, he picked up his phone.
He was debating whether he should invite Xie Tangning over to perform a little exorcism on his aunt.
Liang Jiaqing was so immersed in her blissful mood that, for once, she didn’t bother arguing with the little wastrel.
“This is the magic of falling in love for the first time~ A single dog like you wouldn’t understand!”
Liang Zhou rolled his eyes without mercy. “What’s the difference between you and Brother Shen Lin making it official or not?”
They’d practically been dating even before they made their relationship official, hadn’t they?
Liang Jiaqing turned and glared at him. “How is it the same? Before we made it official, kissing and hugging was called taking liberties!”
“It’s different now. Now it’s perfectly proper and justified!”
“And watch how you address him. He’s your future uncle-in-law!”
Liang Zhou couldn’t be bothered to argue with her. He dragged his mom and dad into applauding wildly.
“All right, all right. Let’s congratulate this openly acknowledged old couple and wish them a long, happy life together!”
Gu’s mom and Liang’s dad, who had been abruptly pulled into the applause: “…”
Liang’s dad finally lost his patience and smacked him hard on the back of the head. “You’re an adult now. Could you try acting normal for once?”
“I don’t want my friends to keep thinking there’s something wrong with our family’s ancestral graves!”
That little bastard was constantly either blowing money outside or putting on the performance of a psychiatric patient.
One of his best friends had even tactfully asked whether he should hire someone to take a look at the feng shui of their ancestral graves.
Liang Zhou covered his head and whimpered. Liang Jiaqing laughed at him. Serves him right.
Then she answered a call and went back to her room. The couple, still in the honeymoon phase of their relationship, didn’t want to spend even a minute apart.
Ms. Liang would like to point out that they had only been separated for a little over half an hour since getting home.
She had no desire to sit there and watch them put on a show of familial affection.
The three members of Liang Zhou’s family watched Liang Jiaqing’s cheerful retreat. After exchanging glances, they all saw the same three words in one another’s eyes:
Hopeless romantic.
Back in her room, Liang Jiaqing began a sweet, lingering phone call with Shen Lin.
“Jiajia, I’m already starting to miss you~”
Shen Lin glanced at the moon outside the window before turning his gaze back to Liang Jiaqing on the screen.
There was a hint of shyness in Liang Jiaqing’s eyes, but she answered him openly enough. “Boss Shen, are you sweet-talking me again~?”
“We haven’t even been apart for an hour!”
Although the way she and Shen Lin interacted had already become familiar and natural during that year or so of testing the waters, she had always been straightforward and relaxed around him. Moments of shyness like this were rare.
Just as Liang Zhou had said, there was practically no difference between this and dating—except that she couldn’t casually take liberties with him.
But after making their relationship official, she simply felt that things were different.
Shen Lin naturally didn’t miss the blush at the tips of her ears. His voice dropped lower. “They say one day apart feels like three autumns. By that calculation, we’ve already accumulated more than ninety days’ worth of longing~”
Looking at that handsome face on her phone, Liang Jiaqing’s mind began replaying the smutty material one of her best friends had shared with her.
When she looked at Shen Lin again, she seemed momentarily flustered and began awkwardly changing the subject.
The man who was a Liang Jiaqing loyalist saw through her instantly. With amusement dancing in the corners of his eyes, he cooperated and chatted with her about this and that.
When you were talking to the person you loved, any topic was a happy one.
And so, on the first day of making their relationship official, the two of them were so excited that they couldn’t sleep. They stayed on the phone and talked for a very, very long time.
One day, after finally winning himself an official place in his beloved’s heart through his own efforts, Shen Lin immediately went off to brag to his good friends.
As for why he didn’t brag to his great-nephew…
That was naturally because Shen Hao had seen it coming. After eating two years’ worth of dog food, he had no desire to be forced to experience any more of that sour stench of romance.
He had fled early and wasn’t even in Haicheng anymore.
Lu Huaiyu was being unusually good-natured about it, mainly because he had already listened to Shen Lin ramble for more than an hour about the heroic story of how he had won over his former crush.
After talking for ages, Shen Lin noticed that the person who would normally at least throw in a few retorts had suddenly gone silent.
Dissatisfied, he kicked him. “Tsk. Have you done so many immoral things that your ears and mouth are being punished too?”
Lu Huaiyu, who was in the middle of replying to a message from his little sister, turned his head and said nothing. He simply insulted Shen Lin with a look—and quite a filthy one at that.
“What? Was I wrong?”
“I’m sharing my happiness with you. As my good brother, is this really the reaction I get?”
“Anyone who didn’t know better would think you were deaf and mute!”
Lu Huaiyu’s eyes nearly rolled all the way to the ceiling. “If you were simply sharing or bragging, I could put up with it!”
“But could you please stop bragging for two sentences only to turn around and bombard me with remarks about how a single dog like me doesn’t understand love?”
“Do you think I’m some kind of masochist?!”
Seeing his good friend at a loss for words, Shen Lin was delighted.
After trading a few more barbs with him, he answered a call and turned to leave.
Jiajia’s flight would be landing in an hour, and he needed to set out early to pick her up at the airport.
After transitioning behind the scenes, Liang Jiaqing was still busy with all kinds of business trips. This time, she had only just returned from one.
It was precisely because she was away on this trip that Shen Lin, a clingy Liang Jiaqing loyalist, had found the time to run over and brag to his good friends.
Boss Shen happily went off to pick her up, leaving behind a roomful of utterly bewildered friends.
Lu Huaiyu turned to the other friend beside him. “Is he sick?”
The friend shrugged. “Is this your first day knowing him? Hasn’t he always been this neurotic?”
Lu Huaiyu: “…”
Forget it. There was no saving this hopeless romantic.
Meanwhile, Shen Lin had already arrived at the airport lounge by the time there were still thirty minutes left before the plane landed.
The moment Liang Jiaqing appeared, Shen Lin’s eyes automatically followed her.
“Jiajia, you’ve worked hard. Welcome home~”
Liang Jiaqing made a beeline for the arms he had already opened and threw herself into his embrace.
The two assistants following behind her were used to this sort of thing. They politely greeted him, “Hello, Uncle Shen.”
Shen Lin nodded with a smile and returned the greeting. His gaze then settled back on Liang Jiaqing, his eyes filled with tiny glimmers of light.
“Boss Shen~ Did you miss me?”
Shen Lin tightened his arms around her. “I did. I missed you terribly~”
Satisfied with the answer she wanted, Liang Jiaqing grinned.
“Heehee~ I missed you too. Let’s go home!”
“I brought you a present from this business trip! And let me tell you, it’s absolutely the most suitable gift in the entire world for you!”
Shen Lin held her hand as they walked toward the parking lot, listening to her enthusiastically share every detail of her trip.
“What gift? Have you found some other strange, bizarre thing you just had to have?”
Shen Lin knew Ms. Liang far too well. She was practically the hidden queen of absurdity.
It was just that, unlike Xie Tangning, she had no intention of throwing away her celebrity image. She only occasionally revealed her talent for the absurd in front of the cameras.
But Liang Jiaqing had never hidden this particular mischievous streak from Shen Lin.
Every time she went on a business trip, she would bring him some ridiculous little gift.
Liang Jiaqing tugged at his arm in dissatisfaction. “No, this time it’s a perfectly normal gift!”
“I’m busy every single day. You should be grateful I brought you anything at all. Don’t be ungrateful!”
Shen Lin let out a low laugh. “How would I dare, sis~”
Ever since they had made their relationship official, Shen Lin had completely let himself go. He no longer bothered pretending to be the older, more mature one.
After learning that she was also into younger men, he would often lean close to her ear and call her “sis,” putting on an innocent puppy act.
Liang Jiaqing’s eyes immediately lit up, and when she noticed the tips of his ears turning red, she became even more eager to tease him.
“Did you learn another little dating trick from your friend, the Level-Ten Tomato Enthusiast?”
“Otherwise, why are you acting so ridiculously flirty today?”
The “Level-Ten Tomato Enthusiast” she was referring to was that legendary man who had once made his girlfriend keep their relationship secret for three whole years.
A flicker of discomfort crossed Shen Lin’s face, but he still stubbornly kept up his composure. “So, sis, you don’t like it?”
Liang Jiaqing immediately burst out laughing. She loved the way he could be clearly embarrassed and shy, yet would never lie to her about his feelings.
“I like it. Of course I like it~”
And so, the young couple, still deep in the throes of their romance, walked home hand in hand amid their laughter and playful banter.
